1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to reproduction apparatus such as copiers and printers, and more particularly to such a reproduction apparatus having an intermediate storage tray assembly capable of proper and automatic feeding of tabbed sheets, for example tab stock.
2. Background Art
Reproduction apparatus such as copiers and printers are well known for producing toned images on first and/or second sides of a suitable sheet. As disclosed for example in EPO Patent No. 0 208 324, issued Oct. 31, 1990 to Eastman Kodak; in U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,021, issued to Doery, on Apr. 4, 1989; and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,035, issued to Rabb et al on Nov. 27, 1990, such suitable sheets may include tabs or tabbed sheets. Tabbed sheets or tab stock are sheets which have an even edge and an uneven edge that includes a short projection portion extending beyond the rest of that edge. Such tabbed sheets or tab stock are useful for separating or producing divisions in a set of copy sheets. As disclosed in the EPO patent 0 208 324, methods and apparatus are known for printing directly on at least one side of the tab portion of a tabbed sheet. In order to enable proper registration and efficient handling of a tabbed sheet in such a reproduction apparatus, the tabbed sheet ordinarily is moved even-edge first, which means that the tabbed edge is therefore a trailing edge.
However, when it is desirable to print on both sides of a tabbed sheet, for example on both sides of the tabbed portion of such a sheet, devices such as a sheet side inverter and an intermediate or duplex sheet storage tray will have to be utilized. Unfortunately, however, such devices typically operate to reverse the order of lead and trail edges of the sheets. The result ordinarily therefore is that tabbed sheets in the duplex sheet storage tray will have the uneven or tabbed edge as their lead edge. Attempting to feed or refeed such tabbed sheet as such (uneven-edge first) from the duplex tray will doubtless result in skewing with significant image misregistration or jams.